For Tide, notion of revenge against A&M is a wash

By David Barron, Houston Chronicle :
September 9, 2013

Last November, Johnny Manziel (right) eluded linebacker Adrian Hubbard to lead the Aggies to a 29-24 upset of No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. While the Crimson Tide insist they're not seeking revenge, they are 7-1 under Nick Saban against foes who beat them the previous year.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In the midst of the hysteria for Saturday's Alabama-Texas A&M game, with talk of rematches and revenge and Johnny Cams, Alabama receiver Amari Cooper inserted a brief moment of logic Monday.

The junior receiver, in fact, seemed perplexed about the suggestion the top-ranked Crimson Tide could make up for its 29-24 loss to the Aggies last November, its only loss of 2012 en route to a second straight national title, by beating A&M on Saturday at Kyle Field.

“If we wanted to get revenge, we would have to play that same team last year with the same team we had last year, so it's really not a revenge thing,” Cooper said.

That would seem to wipe out the revenge factor as an element in play Saturday, at least on Cooper's behalf. But there is a potential factor that comforts Alabama fans as they pack to head west.

Since 2007, Alabama has lost 10 Southeastern Conference games under coach Nick Saban. The Tide has won the return contest seven times with one loss (back-to-back regular-season losses to LSU in 2010-11). The Tide has yet to face South Carolina since losing to the Gamecocks in 2010. Texas A&M, which won last year at Tuscaloosa, is the 10th.

It's no guarantee of an Alabama win, of course. But it does reflect the degree to which Saban, his staff and his players learn from mistakes and make their opponents pay for that knowledge.

“From a strategic standpoint, I think that any time you play someone, you've learned a little about what they did against you, you've learned about what you did against them, and then you see some of the things they may do to try to take advantage of that, and we have to have the answers for what we do if that happens,” Saban said.

If Alabama learned anything against Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel last year, it's that while Manziel's ability to scramble and extend plays makes for good TV — CBS plans Saturday to have a camera isolated solely on Manziel, both on and off the playing field — it makes for lousy defense.

“I told our players that there's a lot of NFL games on Sunday. If you want to watch the quarterback, go watch those games,” Saban said. “If you watch this guy in our game, you're going to get busted.”

Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix learned that the hard way during A&M's 20-point first-quarter outburst, and he said he intends to focus this time on what he should do, not what he might be able to accomplish.

“Never take your eyes off your man,” he said. “The minute you do, he'll pop up off the ground and be somewhere else, and Johnny Football will throw the ball 40, 50 yards downfield and complete the pass.

“He (Manziel) takes off, and you're thinking 'I can go get him,' and the next thing you know, he's throwing the ball to your guy.”

Another lesson is the importance of being physically fit to handle A&M's quick-tempo offense, which limits situational substitutions on defense, even though Saban said scheme is secondary to execution.

“It's not the scheme. It's not the going fast,” he said. “It's the ability to do those things and execute extremely well. Their players have a lot of confidence in it, and they do a really good job of it.”

That was one of many compliments Saban lobbed at the Aggies. A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, he said, “has done a fantastic job. He's a wonderful coach.”

Manziel, he implied, is Cool Hand Luke with a Drake tattoo. “I have not seen him get rattled in a game.” Saban said.

A&M's receivers are adept at “play(ing) scramble rules of how they adjust their routes relative to how he scrambles,” Saban said. The Aggies' defense, said Tide quarterback AJ McCarron, “(does) a real good job of getting to the ball and making plays, and they do a really good job of stripping, holding you up and trying to strip the ball.”

But as Alabama began its preparation for the Aggies — despite an off week, McCarron said the Tide's preparation “wasn't about them, it was about us getting better and the things we need to do on Saturday to be successful” — Saban remains more focused on his own team's development than the potential perils posed by the Aggies.

“We have to be our team playing our game, taking care of our business, and everybody has to do their job,” he said. “And when you play against really good players, which they have, and players who are capable of making explosive plays any down of the game, any lack of that ability to focus and be disciplined is going to help them.

“If you take care of the little things, do the little things right, that will give you the best opportunity to be successful. If you take care of the cents, the dollars can add up. If you don't do that, it never happens.”